The Devil's Rejects
by I Took the One Less Travelled
Summary: Buffy reflects on her relationship with Faith over the years and how they got to this point- sisters. Sure, they fight... but they're Slayers. The original two. Conflict is in their blood. Faith is the only one who can really match Buffy anyway. NOT SLASH. Abandoned. Because I realized how awful it was.
1. Chapter 1

Buffy reflects on how she and Faith got here and where they are today. Angsty family fic. Hints of B/A (S3), B/Aus (S3), B/R (S4), F/R (S4), B/S (S7). B/F friendship, family. NOT SLASH!

Part 1:

Timeline: Between Season 3 Episode 17 Enemies and Season 3 Episode 18 Earshot

Pairings: Hints of B/A, B/Aus, F/Aus

Spoilers: S3 E17 (Enemies), S3 E8 (Lover's Walk), S3 E3 (Faith, Hope and Trick), S3 E12 (Helpless)

Buffy Summers was empty. She stared at the wall with no feeling left in her. So much had happened tonight, so much that she had to process. Angel had pretended to be Angelus for Faith, he had _kissed_ Faith, right in front of her. It had ripped a part of her to shreds, to know that he had done it, even if she knew why he had, intellectually speaking.

But even with all of the Angel drama (which she was far too used to), the real kick in the gut was the confirmation that Faith had betrayed them. Yeah, she had known; but it hadn't been confirmed. Faith had betrayed her. With all of their pain, all of their issues, Buffy had never actually though that Faith would betray _her_, of all people. Wesley, yes. Giles, even, yes. Angel? Hell yes. But _her_?

And the biggest kicker was that Faith had been right about several things. First of all, Angel/Angelus. Faith was right about a part of her yearning for the demon, a part of her wanting to hunt Angel down and give him that moment of pure happiness again so that she could have Angelus. And wasn't that the sickest thing? She _wanted_ Angelus, in a sexual way. She loved Angel with all of her heart, but she had been attracted to him tonight in a totally different way than she usually was.

He had acted the part of the demon perfectly, and it had made certain muscles twist inside of her.

Faith attracted her. Not in a sexual way, for sure, because Buffy didn't swing that way and even if she did, she was sure that Faith wouldn't be at all attractive. Not that Faith wasn't hot shit, but something about the idea was just…_wrong_. Faith was her sister. Through and through.

Maybe that was why she had such difficulty believing that Faith had betrayed her. The Slayer that she constantly tried to deny the existence of was adamant that Faith was _hers_. And that she was _Faith's_. They belonged to each other, and that was what was wrong with the whole thing.

_Fine. Faith left first. It was all Faith's fault. Faith was the one who was in trouble. Faith started it. I just intend to finish it._ And Buffy pushed the Slayer back down, ignored the wailing that said that she should dump the Scoobies, that none of them mattered compared to Faith. That her and Faith and Angelus would help the mayor ascend and take over Sunnydale, and everything would be perfect. That she would be complete.

**A/N: This is not my first fanfic. I used to have another account here, but I deleted it because the stories were such utter crap. I won't say what the penname was, in case anybody remembers it. It's been years since I wrote fanfiction, and I honestly never thought that I would again, but I kept reading all of these Buffy/Faith slash stories. Not that I have anything against slash, but I decided to write the progression of Buffy and Faith's relationship how I see it. I'm planning five chapters to this fic: this one, after Buffy and Angel pretend that Angel's soul is gone so that they can prove that Faith has betrayed them; then one after Buffy stabs Faith to get her blood to cure the poison in Angel; then one after the whole fiasco in season four after Faith wakes up, causes a ruckus, sleeps with Riley and goes to kill Angel only to end up on the redemption track and in jail for twenty-five to life for murder; one in season seven while Buffy's wrestling with her feelings for Spike and finds him and Faith together on the bed in **_**Dirty Girls**_**; and one based after season 7 when the new Watcher's Council is good and established, probably three or four years after season 7. **


	2. Chapter 2

The Devil's Rejects

Part II

Buffy visits Faith in the hospital one last time after the mayor has fallen, Angel is gone and she is about to start the summer. She thinks about her feelings for her sister Slayer and what they could possibly mean. NOT SLASH!

_She had poisoned Angel_. A part of Buffy couldn't believe that Faith had actually done it; tried to kill the man that she loved. More than anyone, Faith had to know what losing Angel would do to her, _had_ done to her. Faith should have understood.

That was why Buffy had done what she had. Faith should have understood, but she hadn't and Buffy was just so _mad_ about it. And she had been so desperate to save Angel that she would have done anything. Now, Faith seemed so tiny than she usually did, lying all bruised and unconscious in the hospital bed, surrounded by the stark white of the impersonal room and connected to a gently beeping heart monitor. Faith was still alive, would probably remain that way for a long time, but she wouldn't ever wake up.

Buffy had made sure of that. She had never before feared her own power as the Slayer so much—she had lost her temper and done something so drastic that it had ruined someone's life. Forever.

Buffy sighed, fingering the patch of gauze over her neck. It was all over now, Angel was gone and, though it felt as if he had ripped her open and taken a part of her soul with him, he had left her better judgement behind. She had never thought particularly clearly when Angel was involved, as was attested by the massive tear in her throat that currently chafed against the collar of her shirt, even through the bandage. It would be gone in a few days, but she would always have the scars to remind herself of her own stupidity where Angel was concerned.

Not that she would have done any differently other than offering her own blood even if she had been thinking beyond fear and grief, but it was a good reminder anyway.

But Faith… if she had thought beyond her anger, she would have, at least selfishly, realized what seeing Faith here in this bed was doing to her, realized what she would have felt if she had died. Faith wasn't disposable, Buffy knew, and beyond her anger she was able to see that.

Now, though, her sister in arms would never wake, and the Slayer within was howling for vengeance. If only there was someone that she could hunt, someone that she could kill for Faith, to somehow make all of this better. But there wasn't, because it was her fault. Faith had almost killed Angel, nearly helped a giant snake demon rise to take over Sunnydale, tried to kill Xander, but Buffy knew that she would never forgive herself for this.

Faith was gone, and Buffy would never see her again. She would never wake again. The last possible comfort was that the mayor had ensured that Faith's care was paid for, that the hospital would never take her off life support no matter how bleak the outcome of leaving her here. Buffy knew quite clearly that her sister Slayer, like her, would rather die than live as a vegetable. But she would never give the order to take her off life support. Faith continued existence would be a comfort as nothing else would.

Paradoxically, the Slayer that loved Faith so much, that recognized another of her kind in a world where she was perpetually alone, urged Buffy to kill her. The Slayer didn't care for individual people; she was just a scared, innocent, lonely child that wanted a sister in the world. She knew enough to understand that when Faith's heart stopped beating, there would be another like her. Another would replace her as Buffy knew that the essence of _Faith_ couldn't be replaced.

Shutting down the Slayer induced urge to pull the plug on Faith's care, Buffy kindly asked the receptionist to put her down as a point of contact should any developments happen with Faith's case. Instead of her home number, Buffy entered Giles' number, knowing that, come September, she would be moving into a dorm, and it would do no good to inform her mother of any developments with Faith. At least if Giles was informed, Buffy would know that the information was in capable hands as far as the supernatural went.

Then she left. It wasn't likely that she would ever return. It hurt too much, she felt too guilty and Faith brought up too many memories. There was the human's feelings for Angel that constantly warred with the Slayer's totally platonic yet equally strong feelings for Faith. She felt like she was going to war with herself whenever she saw Faith, and the latest development hadn't made this mess any easier.

It wasn't that she was gay, or even that she had gay-ish feelings for Faith. _She_ didn't really feel anything for Faith, beyond the fact that she was kind of cool, and Buffy envied her ability to let go, her ability to just _be_. Want, take, have, right? That was what Faith had preached. Buffy found it all scarily appealing. But the Slayer. The Slayer loved Faith, loved her sister, her fellow Slayer. She had since the moment that Buffy had laid eyes on Faith.

The Slayer felt so strongly for Faith that they only possible comparison that could be made to another person in Buffy's life were her feelings for Angel. Of course, the Slayer had her own feelings for Angel. But the rest (Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordy, Giles) were nothing to her. Oh, the Slayer acknowledged that Buffy cared for them, and, as such, would go feral if anyone tried to harm them, but when they weren't in danger, the Slayer cared nothing for them.

They Slayer acknowledged that Buffy and herself were one entity, and that the people that Buffy claimed were hers as well, but it didn't go beyond that. The only two people that the Slayer cared anything for were Faith and Angel. And if it were up to the Slayer, Faith would win every time.

Yes, Faith was special, Faith was Buffy's sister, Faith was everything. But that was all before. Now, all that Faith was has been destroyed, leaving a damaged girl alone on a hospital bed, with no one to care but Buffy.

**A/N: So, there's the second chapter. Like I said, this is after the end of S3. This story is totally canon compliant until the end. I have no interest in following the S8 comics, so I'll just make up my own version of where everyone went after Sunnydale collapsed. **


	3. Chapter 3

The Devil's Rejects

Part III

Timeline: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, between New Moon Rising and The Yoko Factor and Angel Season 1 Post Sancutuary

She slept with Riley, she tried to kill Angel (again) and she had tied her mother to a bed. And then, as if that weren't enough, Faith had somehow talked Angel onto her side. Buffy Summers was well beyond livid and into the pissed off territory. Angel had picked Faith over her, her boyfriend had slept with her body and hadn't had the decency to actually see that it wasn't her behind the wheel, and Faith was in jail. Willingly.

That bit was the part that really blew her mind. If she thought about it, none of the things that Faith had done seemed particularly out of character for the dark-haired Slayer, and the fact that Angel had sided with her, while unpleasant, wasn't exactly unexpected. Wasn't Angel on a redemption kick of his own?

But Faith. In jail. Willingly. Staying there. The thought absolutely blew her mind. That kind of thing just didn't happen! And that wasn't even looking at the fact that Buffy's Slayer was howling with rage at the thought of her sister being locked up, her sister behind bars. The Slayer knew that Faith's Slayer would be going insane by the end of her sentence, that no matter what Faith did to suppress her, it would like an unscratchable itch beneath her skin. The need to hunt, to fight, to kill would be too much for her.

Buffy knew what happened when she had to skip patrol for a few days running. She had no idea how Faith's sanity would handle being locked up. But whenever Faith showed up, she left chaos in her wake. And she usually tried to seduce/kill Buffy's current boyfriend.

It didn't help that the Slayer kept whispering that if Faith wanted Riley, she could have him. They were sisters, after all, and sisters shared everything. Riley was just a big lump of moron, and an even worse choice in a boyfriend than Angel had been, the Slayer said mutinously. Angel had been everything that she had wanted in a mate—powerful, strong, able to stand on his own against the darkness that a Slayer must face. There was the whole 'mortal enemy' thing that kept screaming in the back of her mind when she was with him, but at least she wasn't at war with a part of herself like she was with the Slayer about Riley.

Faith shouldn't be in there—Buffy should go get her out. Right now. Slayers weren't made to be behind bars, and Faith would break there if they weren't careful. It didn't matter that Faith had betrayed her over and over and over again—she was a Slayer, she was Buffy's sister.

There was nothing else to it.

**I know that it's been awhile, and I'm sorry about that. Third chapter, done. I know it's short. It's supposed to be short. If you watch Angel, then you know whereabouts this is referring to. If you don't—quick rundown: Faith turns up in L.A. to escape Buffy and gang, gets hired by Wolfram and Hart, an evil law firm that Angel's fighting, to kill Angel, captures Wes to torture him in the process (Cause Wesley turned up in LA about ten episodes earlier) before she finally realizes what a horrible person she is and breaks down in Angel's arms to beg for forgiveness. He takes her in, him and Wes argue, Buffy turns up to protect Angel from Faith, finds out he's on her side and goes ballistic. In the meantime, Faith finally gets caught up to by the LAPD for the murders that she was suspected for in Sunnydale and runs away. Kate Lockley, a policewoman that knows what Angel is, threatens to lock him up in a cell with a window to burn in the light unless he turns Faith in, Faith chooses to go to jail for her crimes. **


End file.
